The gastrointestinal (GI) microbiome has been widely investigated for its role in many diseases, ranging from diabetes to depression to cancer. The roles of specific GI microorganisms in regulation and progression of these diseases have recently been defined and described, and as such, efforts to modulate the microbiome (e.g., decreasing disease-causing bacterial populations and increasing probiotic populations) are of particular interest. Unfortunately, technologies facilitating the controlled and direct modulation of the GI microbiome are lacking, mostly due to the challenges arising from the delivery of microbes through the stomach (e.g., low pH and high bile salt concentration) to target areas in the GI tract (e.g., intestines and colon).
WO2009070012 discloses protein-based probiotic encapsulates to enhance the survival of the probiotics. Cook, et al. used a model probiotic, Bifidobacterium breve, encapsulated into an alginate matrix before coating in multilayers of alternating alginate and chitosan (Cook M T et al., J. Mater. Chem. B, 2013, 1, 52-60). A significantly improved viability of the probiotics targeted to the intestine was observed when encapsulated. However, Cook et al encapsulated cell aggregates rather than single cells. Quorum sensing has been implicated where specific gene expressions under acidic conditions in several probiotics were observed (Koponen J et al., J. Proteomics 75(4):1357-1374 (2012)).
Furthermore, Cook et al developed the probiotic delivery system mainly to overcome the challenges of survival through the gastric insults of low pH and enzymatic activity. However, these systems have been relatively crude at ensuring delivery to the desired anatomical region. There exists a need for effective compositions to maintain viability of microorganisms following ingestion as well as the abilities to adhere to the target tissue(s) so that its contents will be delivered to targeted tissues as a function of proximity and duration of the contact.
Therefore, it is an objective of the current invention to provide compositions for targeting encapsulated microorganism to a specific site within the GI tract.
It is also an objective of the current invention to provide compositions of encapsulated microorganism with an improved survival and retention.
It is a further objective to control the growth of the microorganism for the intended purpose.